Shivaraj Kumar and Ram Gopal Varma's Killing Veerappan is off to a good start.

Shivaraj Kumar and Ram Gopal Varma have started the New Year on a positive note. Their "Killing Veerappan" has not only opened to positive reviews but has also managed a fantastic opening in Karnataka.

After facing a lot of issues over the release, causing delays, "Killing Veerappan" was finally released on Friday, 1 January. The movie has been simultaneously made in Kannada and Telugu languages, of which the Sandalwood version saw the light of the day on Friday. But the Telugu version was postponed for some reasons but it is most likely to hit the screens next week.

A movie poster from Killing Veerappan.Lahari Music

"Killing Veerappan" had a fantastic opening in Karnataka where the movie is released in close to 200 screens. In Bengaluru, the film had around 90 shows and the movie ran into packed houses in majority of screens.

The early reports say that "Killing Veerappan" had around 70-80% occupancy in Bengaluru and it comes to 65% if the entire state is taken into the consideration. The film could have performed a lot better if Yash's "Masterpiece" was not in theatres as it dominated the screens in the state.

So far, the reviews for "Killing Veerappan" has garnered decent to good reviews and this will ensure that the Shivaraj Kumar starrer to have a great first weekend at the box office. The early estimation says that the movie has made above Rs 4.50 crore on the first day.

This has come as a relief for both Shivaraj Kumar and Ram Gopal Varma's fans as both were desperately in need of big hits and "Killing Veerappan" is most likely to emerge victorious at the box office.

The Ram Gopal Varma film is centred on the events leading to Operation Cocoon to capture Veerappan. "Killing Veerappan" has Sandeep Bharadwaj, Parul Yadav and Yajna Shetty in the key roles.